The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Epilogue
by DigitalBullet
Summary: A story that explores what life would be like for Link and Zelda after the events of Skyward Sword.
1. Chapter 1

"_I… I think I want to live here." _she had said.

"_I always want to feel solid ground beneath my feet, see the clouds above my head, and watch over the Triforce. What about you, Link? What will you do now?"_

It took Link awhile to think it over, but he decided to take Zelda up on her offer. As the days passed after Demise was destroyed, he and Zelda began to build their life together on the surface. The decision came easier to Link than he had thought. There wasn't much for him left in Skyloft – the Academy had granted him knighthood in light of his trials in defeating the demon king and he didn't have any other family up there to begin with.

So back up he went, collecting his belongings from his dorm in the Academy and carrying them down to the surface. Scrapper helped too, though it took far more persuasion from Link to employ his help – with Fi no longer around the little droid nearly refused to listen to Link. Still, with the help of Scrapper, Groose, and Link's Loftwing, there was just about no more sign of Link around Skyloft.

Within the week, the young couple managed to find a serene little clearing within walking distance of the Sealed Temple and Goddess Statue, with plenty of space to build their new home. Within the month, the house stood completed; a cozy forest cottage built by the combined efforts of Link, Groose, and Scrapper.

As the three stood back to admire their work, Groose pulled Link aside.

"Listen, bud… I wanna apologize for how I treated ya before all of this," he sighed, laying a hand on Link's shoulder. "I was a real jerk, and you and I both know it. I just… wanted to look cool in front of Cawlin and Strich, and really just wanted to impress Zelda, ya know?"

Groose looked as if he were about to bawl where he stood, but he sniffled and regained his composure.

"Take care of yourself, little man," he nodded, patting Link's shoulder maybe a bit too hard. "And take care of Zelda, too. You two deserve to relax after all you've been through."

Link gave him a reassuring nod, as Groose whistled for his Loftwing and returned to the sky, and Scrapper following in his wake.


	2. Chapter 2

Describing Link's first night in the new home as rough would be the understatement of the century. He tossed and turned restlessly, tormented by visions of the past and what could have been had he not been so lucky.

Tentalus, dragging a mortally wounded Link off of the sandship to his watery grave, where he could feel every ounce of water invade his lungs…

The pained, horrific scream of Fi as the Bokoblins cast the Master Sword into the Eldin Volcano, and then as Demise's own blade shattered Link's, the tattered remains of her cloak scattering like the broken shards of metal that once were the mighty sword that sealed away the darkness…

Hordes of Bokoblins surrounding Zelda. _His_ Zelda. Capturing, torturing, hurting her…

Link awoke in his bed with a gasp, his shirtless body covered in a thin layer of sweat, to a frightened Zelda leaning over him.

"Link? Link! Wake up!" she cries, tears dripping onto his face.

Link blinked, not saying anything at first, but instead clinging to Zelda, wrapping his arms around her hips and pulling her close. In turn, he starts to cry into her, clinging tightly to her as if his life depended on it.

"It's okay..." whispers Zelda, reaching up to stroke his hair. "It's alright, you're safe..."

It wasn't that Link did not believe her, because he had every reason to trust that she was right. But even still, he did not feel safe. A horrific sense of dread hovered over him like some unholy demon possessing his mind.

And as Zelda returned to sleep, Link continued to stir in torment until morning.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Link awoke to Zelda's head resting on his chest. He bit his lip; this was an entirely new experience for him. Sure, it wasn't his first time sleeping with a woman – that honor would have to go to the night he had asked Fi to remain outside of the sword just for one night – but this was different. While Fi was a being of logic and purpose, Zelda was a woman.

That wasn't to say that Link didn't find Fi unattractive. She mystified him, but he always saw her as a confidant and friend. He could always be honest with her and not fear superficial judgment. Someone he could be himself around.

He sighed and looked back down at the still-sleeping Zelda. Feeling a tad bold, Link carefully wrapped an arm around her, gently pulling her closer towards him. His heart raced as he began to hear quiet murmurs and sighs as she slept.

And when she did awaken, he greeted her with a kiss on the top of her head. The two lay awake for several minutes, just enjoying each other's company, alone, for the first time.

"I've never been able to say this before, but..." began Zelda, visibly rouging. "I… I love you, Link."

Link likewise turned red, expressing the same sentiment, telling her that despite the fact that she had used his love for her to get him to accept his destiny as the Hero, he forgave her and loved her. As he said all of this, Zelda began to tear up and cover her face with her hands. Link gently moves her hands aside, looking deeply into her azure eyes.

Their faces drift closer until they finally meet in the kiss Link was hoping to share with her at the Wing Ceremony, and their first kiss together.


	4. Chapter 4

The midnight wind of the Faron Woods bit at Link's face as he cracked ajar the door to the cottage, careful not to wake the sleeping Zelda as he took an unplanned nighttime constitutional. Autumn in the Woods looked like a work of art Link had only seen in paintings: leaves were golden, grass was still green, and the sky a deep purple. Very different to autumn in Skyloft, Link thought, where things just turned brown. But the chill never bothered him. In fact, the daytime heat was beyond what he was used to. After all, it was always chilly living among the clouds. Even a mild warm spell felt like a burning summer's day to Link.

Another sensation Link wasn't used to yet was the crunch of the crisp leaves beneath his boots as he strolled along. In Skyloft, fallen leaves just sort of… fell off of the trees and blew away to fall to the surface. Here, he noticed, they just stay there.

And so Link set off, crunching leaves underfoot and enjoying the cool autumn breeze, absentmindedly strolling about until he found himself at the entrance to the Sealed Temple. Thinking back to the events of the last few months, Link sighed, pushing the door open.

Inside, just like how the sunlight shone upon it, a bright beam of moonlight illuminated the Master Sword, sitting firm in the pedestal where Link had thrust it.

He stood in front of it, admiring the sword he once used to slay hundreds of monsters, and even the demon lord himself. The sword he found as the Goddess Sword in the depths of the Goddess Statue (which now sat just outside the Temple). The sword he tempered by the three fires of Din, Farore, and Nayru, the sword that Fi inhabited.

Fi…

Link held back a tear as he thought about her again. She was cold and mechanical on the surface, but Link knew that deep down, there was a certain air of humanity to her. Even if she didn't know it.

He sat down in front of the sword and stared at the hilt. He didn't notice it before, but the wrapping along the hilt perfectly matched Fi's stockings in color and in pattern. He stifled a chuckle; the absurd visual analogy of him holding her by the legs and swinging her wildly like a madman was not lost on him.

He pondered if he had even seen her arms. Did she even have them? Link couldn't remember. If they were there, they had always been hidden underneath her cloak. Surely she must. After all, Ghirahim had arms and-

His thoughts gave way to melancholy and the smile he had worn fell to weeping. The closest thing he had to a friend on his travels was gone. Not dead, and certainly not forgotten, but the idea that _there she is_, sitting right in front of him in that sword, but he would never speak to her again, completely shattered Link's heart. Somehow, against all of the other souls he had met throughout his travels, something about her was more human than them all.

He sat there for awhile, struggling to see through the tears, before he shut his eyes, took a deep breath, and stood back up. Walking to the pedestal, he placed a hand on the pommel of his sword and took one more look at it. In his mind, he thanked Fi for being there for him, and planted a kiss on the pommel. Then turning away, with one final glance backward, he set back for his home.

After all, she promised to meet him again in another life. She would wait there for him until the end of time, and maybe not this Link, but another, would be there for her. _And no one's ever really gone_, he thought to himself. _Zelda had said the same for Impa. No one's ever really gone._


End file.
